Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has a solid lead against former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis in Florida's gubernatorial race, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University poll found 54 percent of likely voters back Gillum, a Democrat, while 45 percent support DeSantis, a Republican. The nine-point gap is wider than the three-point gap found in a Quinnipiac poll released earlier this month.

Other recent polls, including one released yesterday by NBC/Marist, also show Gillum leading DeSantis, despite being outspent by DeSantis and his allies in advertising.

Heavy advertising usually signals a winning campaign, but DeSantis' ads don't seem to be helping him, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll.

“Those TV ads — run in an effort to introduce DeSantis to Florida voters — are airing at the same time his favorability numbers are sinking and Mayor Gillum's are rising,” Brown said.

Poll results

Six weeks before Election Day, nearly all — 94 percent — of those polled said they had made up their mind about who to vote for in the race.

Women are heavily backing Gillum: 59 percent said they plan to vote for him while 39 percent said they plan to vote for DeSantis. Men are divided: 51 percent said they plan to vote for Gillum while 48 percent said they plan to vote for DeSantis.

The most important issues in the election, according to those polled, are: